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L.A.'s Kosher Scene Gets a Nod From the New York Times
(Photo courtesy of Mexikosher on Facebook)
During National Vegetarian Awareness Week, we talked to Antoanet Aburto about the challenges of creating Mexican cuisine for a meat-free audience. Aburto runs her own meat-free Latino catering business called Pacha Vegan Peruvian and a similarly-themed blog called Chica Vegan, and she expressed the need to provide alternatives for those with dietary restrictions because Angelenos are so obsessed with their tacos.
Well, the New York Times printed a piece this week covering a similar topic: the expansion of L.A.'s kosher scene, which includes newcomer Mexikosher, which provides Latino fare that traditionally is everything but kosher; carnitas is a major no-no for those adhering to the diet, and a hefty amount of Mexican food combines meat and cheese on the same plate. But Mexikosher has joined the ranks of many other Angeleno restaurants that are going beyond the typical falafel and deli offerings, providing unique, affordable, gourmet options for those keeping kosher.
"New York may have a larger Jewish population, but the kosher options here [in L.A.] seem far more exciting. There is barbacoa and artisan sausages, Persian stews and Thai delicacies. Keeping kosher does not mean eschewing the ethnic food we’ve seen only on television," says writer Jennifer Medina of the Angeleno kosher offerings. The story continues with a quote from Elina Shatkin of Los Angeles Magazine:
New York City has no shortage of high-end kosher restaurants, with cloth napkins and extensive wine lists, and the check for two is seldom less than $100. Los Angeles kosher, on the other hand, is a much more casual affair, except for a few upscale steakhouses that have been around for decades to cater to the Hollywood-that-lunches set. Still, it’s hard to complain when you have a choice of sushi, Thai, French, Israeli and Mexican in a five-block radius.
“Maybe food has finally hit a certain zeitgeist where people realized how underserved the kosher market really was,” said Shatkin, an editor at Los Angeles Magazine and former restaurant critic for LA Weekly, who has seen the kosher corridor change significantly in the decade she’s lived nearby. “For so long, the food was so blah and mediocre, I would never take friends there. Now I can say, ‘Let me take you someplace where you can get something you can’t find anywhere else.’ ”
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